2. Most practical costume: Lady Gaga’s unitard

Lady Gaga had plenty of costume changes, but they were all over her black unitard, which allowed her to dance, play guitar and keytar and jump into the audience with ease. Also, where did she get those tights? All of that dancing and suggestive writhing and she had no runs in them at all. We see an infomercial in her future.

5. Weirdest set props: Travis Scott

The young rapper had throngs flocking to his Outdoor Theatre set Sunday night where he started the night with multiple cardboard cutouts of himself on stage. And then there were trees and giant bird cages. By the end of the night, Scott was rapping with his permanent Auto-Tune sound atop a giant bird that had red eyes and flapped its wings.

6. Best place to feel like you’re in a cartoon: Sonora Tent

It was also the home to some rock acts like Guided by Voices and T.S.O.L., getting ever more rare at Coachella as the fest trends towards electronic dance music. Plus, it had couches and air conditioning.

7. Best blasts from the past: Todd Rundgren and Michael McDonald

A pair of stars who released great albums long before most of the attendees at Coachella were even born were among the true surprise guests at the fest.

On Friday, Rundgren joined the Lemon Twigs for “Couldn’t I Just Tell You” from his landmark “Something/Anything?,” ending with the icon shouting, “Twiiiiigs!” as a blessing for these young carriers of the power pop glam rock torch.

8. Earliest dance party: Quitapenas

The Inland Empire-based band’s name means without worries, and people let them go during the Latin and tropical flavored dance party in the Sonora tent at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon when people are generally too hung over to even bother showing up at the venue, let alone dance. Not this crowd. Quitapenas had the audience creating an impromptu limbo line followed by multiple conga lines.

9. Most likely take over the Richard Simmons torch: Francis and the Lights

Synthesized fun on Friday was led by Francis and the Lights in the Mojave tent. Call it “Sweatin’ to the Coachella Hits.” Oddly enough, it was the coolest day, temperature-wise.

10. Biggest comeback: Drake

Future’s Saturday night main stage set served as a redemptive return for Drake, whose headlining show two years ago fell flat, perhaps only memorable for the untoward and unwanted soul-sucking kiss Madonna planted on Drake when she showed up as a guest. Here, his energy was far better and the expected charisma of Drake clearly on display.

11. Oddest place to hear Bon Jovi: Sahara Tent

For real, DJ and producer Marshmello was playing the New Jersey hair rockers’ classic “Livin’ on a Prayer” and everyone was singing along on Sunday night. And also, Blink-182 drummer and frequent Coachella special guest Travis Barker showed up at another point in the set.

14. Worst fashion trend: Fishnet dresses

Often worn over bikini-style clothing, this fashion trend is impractical for a place where the temperature can swing 30 degrees in a day and wind gusts are common. Plus, you’re going to have the worst tan lines ever.

Peter Larsen has been the Pop Culture Reporter for the Orange County Register since 2004, finally achieving the neat trick of getting paid to report and write about the stuff he's obsessed about pretty much all his life. He regularly covers the Oscars and the Emmys, goes to Comic-Con and Coachella, reviews pop music, and conducts interviews with authors and actors, musicians and directors, a little of this and a whole lot of that. He grew up, in order, in California, Arkansas, Kentucky and Oregon. Graduated from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Ore. with degrees in English and Communications. Earned a master's degree at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Earned his first newspaper paycheck at the Belleville (Ill.) News-Democrat, fled the Midwest for Los Angeles Daily News and finally ended up at the Orange County Register. He's taught one or two classes a semester in the journalism and mass communications department at Cal State Long Beach since 2006. Somehow managed to get a lovely lady to marry him, and with her have two daughters. And a dog named Buddy. Never forget the dog.

Vanessa Franko is the Digital Director of Entertainment for the Southern California News Group. The lure of palm trees and covering pop culture brought her to The Press-Enterprise in Riverside in 2006. Vanessa has reported on everything from the Palm Springs International Film Festival to the MLB All-Star Game as a reporter, photographer, videographer and on-camera personality. She's won awards for her coverage of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and for crime reporting in her home state of Maryland. Vanessa studied multimedia storytelling as a Knight Digital Media Center fellow in Dec. 2011 and has taught college courses in digital journalism. She's seen shows at every major concert venue in Southern California, but most special was when Paul McCartney played the high-desert roadhouse Pappy & Harriet's in Pioneertown for a couple hundred fans in Oct. 2016. Her album collection numbers in the thousands (including a couple hundred on vinyl) and when she isn't hunting for records, she and her husband like to check out the best in Southern California craft beer and watch sports. She also had a cameo in the 1992 Atlanta Braves highlight film, Lightning Strikes Twice!